Gas-engine.



No. 742,820. PATENTED NOV. 3, 1903.

E. B. ARNOLD & A. T. KASLEY.

GAS ENGINE.

APPLIOATION IIILED JAN. 16, 1901. no MODEL. s sums-sum 1.

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No. 742,820. PATENTED NOV. 8, 1908.

' E. E. ARNOLD & A. T. KASLEY.

GAS ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 16, 1901. N0 MODEL. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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No. 742.820. PATENTED NOV. 3, 1903. E. E. ARNOLD & A. T. KASLEY.

GAS ENGINE.

APPLIOATIQN FILED JAN. 16, 1901.

NO MODEL- 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- WITNESSES: mgr/Tons v z 3( 6 Z m: NORRIS PETERS ca, womu'mc" WASHING'VON. u c.

UNITED STATES Patented November 3, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

EDWIN EBERT ARNOLD, OF PITTSBURG, AND ALEXANDER TAYLOR KASLEY, OF WILKINSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNORS TO THE WESTINGHOUSE MACHINE COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

GAS-ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 742,820, dated November 3, 1903.

Application filed January 16, 1901. Serial No. 43,546. (No model.)

T at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, EDWIN EBERT AR- NOLD, residing at Pittsburg, and ALEXANDER TAYLOR KASLEY, residing at Wilkinsburg, in

the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, citizens of the United States, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Gas-Engines, of which the following is a specification.

:0 Our invention relates to internal combustion or explosive engines, and particularly to that class known as two-cycle engines.

The object of our invention is to provide a two-cycle double-expansion engine that shall have a minimum number of parts for the work to be performed and which shall be efiective, economical, and durable in use.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view, partially in side elevation and partially in section, of one form of engine embodying our invention; and Fig. 2 is a similar view of a modification, the power portion of the engine being, however, omitted. Fig. 3 is a sectional View on line III III of Fig. l,

and Fig. 4 is a similar View on line IV IV of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the form of engine illustrated in Figs. 1 and 3, and Fig.

6 is a similar view of the engine illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 1, 3, and

5, the frame 1 of the engine has journaled in it the usual main shaft 2, provided in the present instance with three cranks 3, 4, and 5.

The cranks 3 and 4 are respectively connected,

3 5 by means of connecting-rods 6 and 7, to suitable cross-heads, (not shown,) which are in turn connected to the stems of driving-pistons, to be hereinafter described. The crank 5 is connected in a similar manner, by means of a 0 connecting-rod 8, to a suitable cross-head, (not shown,) which is in turn connected to the stem of a driven piston, to be hereinafter described.

Supported upon the frame 1 are three cyl- 4 5 inders 9, 10, and 11,1'espectively providedwith pistons 12, 13, and 14:, having the stems 15, 16, and 17, above referred to. The engine is shown as double-acting-that is to say, the several valves and ports are duplicated-so that the pistons do substantially the same kind and amount of work in moving downward as in moving upward. Since this construction involves merely a substantial duplication of parts, a description of one set of parts and of the operation in one direction will in general be suflicient for a clear understanding of the invention. It will be further understood that the engine may be made single-acting, if desired, without departing from the invention. v

As has already been stated, the piston l4is driven from the shaft 2 in the operation of the engine, and consequently it and its cylinder constitute a compressing-pump for supplying the high-pressure or explosion cylinder 10 with air for scavenging purposes and with an explosive mixture for operating its piston. The explosive mixture of air and gas is supplied, through a mixing-valve 18, to a valve-chamber 19, which communicates, by passages 20, with the respective ends of the cylinder 11. The ends of the valve-chamber 19 are open, so as to admit air thereto, and said chamber is provided with two pairs of piston-valves 21 and 22, which are mounted upon a reciprocating stem 23. The valves 22 are tubular and have open ends, so that air may be admitted therethrough to the spaces between the said valves and the valves 21, the latter having closed ends. The valve-cham- 8o beris provided with ports 24, from which pipes 25 lead to chambers 26. The ends of the cylinder 11 communicate with the chambers 26 by means of pipes 27 and may be provided with cooling-jackets, as indicated and as is usual in apparatus of this character. The cut-off is effected by means of the valves 21 and 22,which are reciprocated through the action of a connecting-rod eccentrically connected to the engine-shaft at one end, a cross head or block 28, 0 operating in gilideways 29, and the stem 23.

The cut-off may be varied in accordance with the load on the engine by means of a suitable shaft-governor 30, the details of which are not shown, but which may be of usual 5 construction. Air and an explosive mixture are successively admitted to the high-pressure cylinder 10 by means of a valve 32, any suitable controlling or restraining means for which may be employed, none being, howwith the exhaust-passage 36 when the piston nearly reaches the limit of its stroke in either direction. Any suitable form of igniter 37 for the explosive mixture may be employed.

The operation of the engine is as follows: \Vith the engine in the position shown in Fig. 1 and for convenience considering the engine as single-acting the piston 14 is just starting on its downward stroke. By reason of.open communication between the atmosphere and the upper end of cylinder 11 through the upper valve 22, the corresponding port 24, pipe 25, chamber 26, and pipe 27 the said pipes and chamber are full of air when the piston begins to descend. As the piston 14 descends the explosive mixture supplied by the mixing-valve 18 will flow into and fill the gradually-enlarging space above the piston until the supplies of mixture and air are out off by the valves 22 and 21. As has been already stated, the time of cutoff relative to the stroke of piston 14 is subject to variation in accordance with the load on the engine through the action of the shaft-governor. On the return stroke of the piston 14 the charge of explosive mixture and the air in front of it are compressed until the pressure in the cylinder 10 is exceeded, when the valve 32 will be opened. The air in the pipe 27 and chamber 26 obviously enters the cylinder 10in advance of the charge of explosive mixture,-and consequently serves to drive out the burned gases therefrom through the passage 33 into the low-pressure cylinder 9, the movements of the parts being so timed that some of the charge of air also passes into cylinder 9. The piston 13 on its return stroke covers the port opening into the passage 33 and compresses the charge of explosive mixture in the cylinder 10, which at the proper time is exploded by the igniter 37, the explosion serving to move the piston downward until it uncovers the passage 33, at which instant the piston 12 is substantially at the top of its stroke. The piston 12 then moves downward under the furtherexpansion of thegases in its cylinder until the piston 10 on its return stroke puts the passage 33 into communication with the exhaust-passage 36 through the passages 34 and 35, when the products of combustion will be expelled from the cylinder 9 by the upstroke of piston 12.

The operation of the several parts, by virtue of which the engine is double-acting, will be understood from the foregoing description,

since the various devices for controlling and governing the 'air, explosive mixtures, and products of combustion during the reverse movements of the pistons are substantially likethose already described as regards both structure and mode of operation.

Referring now to Figs. 2, 4, and 6, the high and low pressure cylinders and their pistons are substantially the same in structure and mode of operation as the corresponding parts of the preceding figures, and hence the description already given may be read in connection with what is shown in these figures.

The means forsupplying the explosive mixture to the high-pressure cylinder 10 difiers somewhat from the means shown in the preceding figures, and it will therefore be now described. While the engine is shown as double-acting, the several pistons and cylinders are substantial duplicates of each other, and hence a description of those at one end only will be necessary, particularly in view of the fact that the'invention is in no wise limited to use in connection with engines of the double-acting variety.

Gas or a mixture of air and gas that is too rich to explode is admitted to a pipe 38 by means of a valve 39, which may be a mixingvalve of suitable construction in case a mixture is used, and the pipe 38 communicates with a chamber 40 above the pump-cylinder 41. A spring-seated valve 42 is provided for controlling the admission of gas or mixture from the chamber 40 into the cylinder 41, and this is controlled by means of an arm 43, which is connected to a suitable shaft-governor 30 by means of a lever 44, rod 45, and pitman 46. The gas or mixture, as the case may be, is admitted to the explosion-chamber 47 at the top of the high-pressure cylinder 10 through a passage 48, the outlet of this passage being The igniter 50,.

controlled by a valve 49. which may be of any suitable variety, is located in the chamber 47. The air to be combined with the gas or rich mixture in order to form a suitable explosive mixture is admitted by a port 51 and by a valve 52 into the cylinder 41, and when its piston 53 moves toward the center the airis forced into a chamber 54 through an opening controlled by a valve 55. The chamber 54 connects with the space 56 behind a valve 57, which opens into the explosion-chamber 47.

The operation of the engine is as follows: Starting with the engine having its parts in the positions indicated in Fig. 2, the pistons 53 have just started on their downward stroke and air is being drawn through the port 51 into the lower cylinder 41 and gas or a rich mixture of gas and air controlled by the mixing-valve 39 is being introduced into thev upper chamber 40 and thence into the upper cylinder 41. On the return stroke the air in the lower cylinder 41 is compressed and forced through the port having valve 55 into the receiver 54. The inlet-valve 42 is prevented from closing by the lever 43, actuated from a suitable sha ft-governor 30 through the links and rods 45 and 46, until some of the mixture or gas has been returned to the pipe 38. The remainder is compressed and forced through the passage 48 and into the cylinder 10, which is already full of air. The rich mixture or gas from the cylinder 41 and the air already in the cylinder 10 form an explosive mixture which at the proper time is ignited by means of a suitable igniter. As indicated in Fig. 2, the explosion has just taken place, and the piston is now moved downward by the expansion of the gas until the ports 33, communicating with the cylinder 9, are uncovered, at which instant the piston 12 in cylinder 9 is at the top of its stroke. The piston 12 is now moved downward by the further expansion of the products of combustion until the pressure in the cylinders 10 and 9 falls below that in the receiver 54, when the valve 57, between the receiver 54 and the cylinder 10, opens, and the fresh air enters the cylinder 10 through the valved port and expels the burned gases from the cylinder through the ports 33, which still remain open. The piston 12 continues to move downward, while the piston 10, returning on its upward stroke, covers the ports 33 and compresses the air in the cylinder 10 and at the same time cylinder 10 is receiving a rich charge through the passage 48 and valve 49 for the next explosion. When the piston 13 has reached the top of its stroke, the recess 34 in the piston uncovers the ports 33 and allows the gases in the cylinder 9 to exhaust to the atmosphere.

We desire it to be understood that our invention is susceptible of other modifications than those shown and that it is not limited to details of construction except in so far as such details may be specifically claimed.

We claim as our invention 1. In a gas-engine, the combination with a main shaft, high and low pressure cylinders and a pump-cylinder, of pistons in the several cylinders, connections between said pistons and the shaft and valves and governing means for automatically controlling the supply of air and gas and insuring successive introduction of the same into the high-pressure cylinder, the piston in the high-pressure cylinder serving as a valve for the exhaust-ports of both high and low pressure cylinders.

2. In a gas-engine, the combination with a shaft and high and low pressure cylinders provided with pistons for driving the shaft, the piston in the high-pressure cylinder serving also as an exhaust-valve for both cylinders, of a supply-cylinder, a piston therefor operated by the engine-shaft to force air and gas into the high-pressure cylinder successively and valves and governing means for automatically regulating the amounts of air and gas supplied to said cylinder.

3. In a gas-engine, the combination with a shaft, two driving-pistons and a driven piston connected thereto, of cylinders for said pistons, means for admitting regulated amounts of air between the driven piston and one end of its cylinder and regulated amounts of gas between said piston and the other end of its cylinder, valved passages leading from the respective ends of said cylinder to one of the driving-piston cylinders and a passage between the driving-piston cylinders for which one of the pistons serves as both an inlet and an exhaust valve.

4. In a gas-engine, the combination witha high-pressure cylinder having one or more ports at each side and a low-pressure cylinder having a port leading to the port at one side of the high-pressure cylinder, of a piston in said high-pressure cylinder having a passage extending laterally therethrough for the discharge of the products of combustion from the low-pressure cylinder and means for supplying the high -'pressure cylinder with charges of compressed air and explosive mixture in succession.

5. In a gas-engine, the combination with a high-pressure or explosion cylinder and a lowpressure or expansion cylinder into which the high-pressure cylinder exhausts, of pistons operating in said cylinders one of which serves as an inlet-valve for the low-pressure cylinder and as an exhaust -valve for both cylinders and means for introducing compressed air into the high-pressure or explosion cylinder while the products of combustion in the two cylinders are under pressure.

6. In a gas-engine, the combination with a high-pressure or explosion cylinder and a lowpressure or expansion cylinder into which the explosion-cylinder exhausts, of pistons in said cylinders one of which serves as an exhaustvalve for both cylinders and a compressingcylinder having a piston which operates therein to force air into the high-pressure cylinder while the products of combustion are being exhausted from said cylinder into the lowpressure cylinder.

7. In a gas-engine, the combination with an explosion-cylinder, a compressing cylinder and pistons operated therein, of a restricted passage between the compressing cylinder and the explosion-cylinder and a cut-0E valve serving to supply air to said restricted passage and to thereafter supply an explosive mixture to the compressingcylinder which, under the action of the compressing-piston follows the air into the explosion-cylinder.

8. In a gas-engine, the combination with an explosion-cylinder and a compressing-cylinder, of pistons operating respectively therein, of a valve cooperating with the compressing cylinder and piston to supply air and an explosive mixture successively to the explosion-cylinder and means for automatically adjusting the valve to vary the cut-ofi in accordance with the load on the engine.

9. In a gas-engine, the combination with an explosion cylinder, a compressing cylinder and pistons operating respectively therein, of an air-passage and an explosive-mixture &

passage leading independently to the same end of the compressing-cylinder, a valve device for so controlling the supply of air and of mixture to the respective passages as to insure introduction of the air and mixture 11. In a gas-engine, the combination with a high-pressure cylinder, a low-pressure cylinder and a pump-cylinder respectively provided with pistons, of a variable cut-ofi-valve device operating in conjunction with the pump to supply air and explosive mixture successively to the high-pressure cylinder, the piston operating in said cylinder serving as the exhaust-valve for both the high and low pressure cylinders. y

In testimony whereof we have hereunto subscribed our names this 10th day of January, 1901.

EDWIN EBERT ARNOLD. ALEXANDER TAYLOR KASLEY. Witnesses:

GEo. V. MILLIGAN, ALBERT W. SMELTZ. 

